


Zugzwang

by Minos_forlorn



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chess, Chess Metaphors, Gen, everything i write is a metaphor, ok so uhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:29:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28934046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minos_forlorn/pseuds/Minos_forlorn
Summary: Hange moves a stool over and places the board on it. “So, if I win, you answer some of my questions.”Pieck considers this. “And if I win?”“Then I’ll stop badgering you. I’ll even let you play white. What do you say?”
Relationships: Pieck Finger & Hange Zoë
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Zugzwang

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in one of my AUs that I might flesh out one day. But basically, Pieck, Bertholdt and Porco are on Paradis 7 years after RBA return unsuccessful to resume the mission.

Sleeping on the couch has had the unfortunate effect of leaving Pieck a little perplexed upon waking up. It takes her a minute to remember where she is and what she’s doing, that this is not Zeke’s couch, nor his study. It’s still nice for comfort’s sake, considering she is technically being held hostage. The squad leader’s room is not the worst prison cell in the world to be stuck in, even if the company has the tendency to... drive her up the wall, so to speak. Case in point: she wakes up from her nap, not for the first time, to a face positioned way too close to her own.

“Do you mind?”

“Sorry,” Hange says, straightening up. “You’re just so fascinating.”

“Fascinating, how?”

“Well, for instance, I noticed your healing ability works slower than Eren’s, regardless of the severity of the injury. Is that due to  physique , I wonder? Or age?” 

It just stands to confirm Pieck’s been right to keep her mouth shut. They’re doing more than fine just by observing. “I told you, I don’t know about that.”

“But you’ve been a titan for quite a while now, right? Surely, you’ve noticed some things.”

She shrugs.

They tap their fingers on the chair for a bit, then swiftly stand up and shuffle over to a bookshelf. “All right, how about this: do you play chess?”

“Occasionally.” She’s mostly played with Zeke in the past. She quite misses it. Bertholdt’s been wanting to play too, but they haven’t been able to get their hands on a set.

Hange moves a stool over and places the board on it. “So, if I win, you answer some of my questions.”

Pieck considers this. “And if I win?”

“Then I’ll stop badgering you. I’ll even let you play white. What do you say?”

She slowly moves to sit up. “Sure,” she says, if for no other reason than the fact that this will be infinitely more interesting than sleeping and staring at a wall while waiting for Porco and Bertholdt to bust her out. She can always lie, should the outcome be unfavourable.

A typical opening. She can’t help but try for a scholar’s mate, as she always does with new opponents to test the waters.

“Quite an aggressive style,” Hange remarks, moving a pawn. “For such a laid-back person.”

Pieck gives them a smirk, retreating with the queen.  Of course they’d know this one. Still, didn’t hurt to try.

They’re barely a few moves into the game when Hange speaks up. “So, what’s your favourite food?” Bishop to e6.

“Don’t you have to win first before you start asking questions?” Queen’s side castle.

“Oh, but this isn’t titan related. I’m just making conversation.” Bishop to h6. 

Fair enough. Still, Pieck has to stop herself from answering salmon, reminding herself that even small talk is precarious. All it takes is one slipup. Knight to b5.

Knight takes.

She thinks back on a vegetable soup she’s had here at some point and rolls with that. Queen takes. Check.

Pawn to c6. “I know a good place for that. They’ve got this excellent stew as well. I’ll show you sometime.”

Pieck hums. Queen back to d3. 

They play on. After Hange trades their queen for a bishop, Pieck feels confident enough to pose a question herself. “Do you have any other interests beside titans?”

“Oh, titans are my life’s work. It’s difficult to find time for anything else. But they really are so fascinating. There is so much that we don’t understand, but I’m so close to cracking the code, I just know it!” Knight to e4.

“But besides that?” Rook to e1.

They think for a moment, finger resting on the temple of their glasses. “No. Nothing else brings me this much excitement.” Bishop to d2. 

Pieck frowns. She didn’t see the fork coming. Now she’s down a rook, but Hange loses a bishop. She means to ask them about their favourite book, but reconsiders, seeing as she wouldn’t be able answer if asked about hers. Her mind draws a blank on available topics. Life on this island really revolves around titans.

“What do you like best about titans?” She asks, figuring she might as well indulge them. Hange’s eyes shine with an intensity akin to the sun and they grin as though they’ve been waiting for years to hear those words. Pieck immediately regrets her decision as they take the opportunity to launch into a spiel about average sizes, speed, facial features, the specific way their eyes move, their reaction to different kinds of animals, and so on. Pieck nods every now and then, but mostly drowns them out as she focuses on the game.

Hange finally castles, quite late into the game but their position still looks solid. It’s Pieck’s own fault for messing up the opening. She’s not usually this reckless in practice, but this isn’t a battlefield. It’s a game. An opportunity to learn.

She moves the queen and knight forward, trapping the king in his corner. Hange doesn’t seem too concerned and moves their rook to the first row. Check. Pieck has no choice but to lose her other rook as well. Pretty soon her king is locked in a dance with Hange’s rook and knight, forced to move forward into the open. They take turns on the offensive, trying to gain the upper hand.

And then a particularly nasty rook fork from Hange that forces Pieck to give up her queen. She can’t advance with what’s left of her pawns and she can already predict losing her knight to an incoming pin. Beautifully laid traps everywhere she looks. She sees clearly now that behind that eccentric persona lies a genius. 

“The way you exploit zugzwang,” she remarks, “is nothing short of cruel.”

Hange, who was still listing off features of titans up to this point, lets out a curt laugh. “Thanks, I suppose? Is that what you call the rook?”

And just like that, realisation strikes Pieck as suddenly and painfully as a gunshot. Now it’s her turn to gaze at Hange with a sense of fascination as she becomes fully aware of the state of circumstances. These people have been living completely cut off from the world. They don’t know the names of chess tactics developed over the years. They have no concept of cars or airplanes or other machinery. They don’t know about saltwater fish, or even the ocean. Hange hasn’t seen any of the greatest chess matches played by grandmasters – they're simply using their head and, frankly, wiping the floor with Pieck. She feels a sort of guilt, because while it wasn’t by any means her fault these people are trapped here, she definitely plays a part in maintaining the status quo by being part of Marley’s schemes, going on this mission, withholding information. These are competent, capable people, left here to rot away. She knows it's out of her hands, but it doesn’t sit right with her.

“It’s a term for forcing the player to make a move that will compromise their position,” she says. “I read about it somewhere.”

“Oh, I see! Interesting. Funny name for it, though.”

Pieck stares at the board and rubs her temple. She could try and force a stalemate at this point, but that certainly wouldn’t count as a victory and she’d much rather accept her loss with dignity than keep running. She feels the two of them have been in a stalemate for long enough anyway.

“Very well, Hange Zoë,” she says, leaning back against the cushions. “Ask away, whatever it is you wish to know, and I’ll see if I can answer.”

They clap their hands excitedly and moves to dig out a notebook from under the stack of books on the desk. Pieck reaches for the mug of tea that's way too cold by now. She doesn’t intend to reveal anything crucial, but she’ll still have some fun with this game, give them some vague hints and speculations to keep them busy. Hange’s proven themself a formidable opponent. This time, she’s letting them make the first move. 

**Author's Note:**

> Some chess terminology, for anyone who cares:
> 
> Scholar's mate = a checkmate pattern that ends the game after only 4 moves  
> Fork = a piece attacking two pieces simultaneously  
> Pin = the situation where an attacked piece cannot move without exposing an even more valuable piece (or target) behind it


End file.
